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Hurricane Sandy Dog Finds Happy Ending

During a trip to New York City, Bill H. and his family decided to adopt a dog at the ASPCA Adoption Center. Lex, now named Sandy, was one of many animals rescued in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Bill shared the following story with us about Sandy’s happy new life in Pennsylvania:

Adopting Sandy was a product of luck, timing and coincidence. Denise, my wife, and I were visiting New York City with our daughter Amanda, and stayed at a hotel next door to the APSCA. As we walked by, Amanda’s first question was, “Can we get another cat?”

We saw a couple of dogs that Amanda and I liked, but Denise was not sold—that is until she saw Sandy. Our introduction to Sandy involved a great deal of barking, but she became very happy and her tail began wagging like crazy upon seeing ASPCA staff. A potential adopter was visiting with Sandy, so we decided to come back the next day. We decided that Sandy was a good fit for us, and we hoped we were a good fit for her.

From that point on, Sandy has been nothing but happy surprises. She got into our car and sat on Denise’s lap for the whole ride back to Pennsylvania. We learned at the Adoption Center that Sandy might take a little longer to warm up to men. When we got home, I was sitting on our deck while Sandy explored. After a few minutes, she walked up to me, licked my face, and then rolled over and sprawled out, waiting for her me to pet her belly. Sandy also became fast friends with my 20-year-old son, Zack.

We have had a few people in and out of the house since Sandy's arrival, and she has reacted to them with varying degrees of wariness, but has warmed up to each. We host a large deck party every year, and struggled with what to do with Sandy during the party. We decided if she became uncomfortable, we would put her in our room. The best part of the party was how Sandy handled everything. In the beginning, she stuck by me or Zack. By the end of the night Sandy was "working" the party, "introducing" herself to various guests and letting them know she expected to have her belly rubbed if they were deemed lucky enough to get the "rollover."